Democratic Virginia Sen. Mark Warner is refusing to distance himself from Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones, who is facing calls to suspend his campaign after resurfaced text messages showed that he mused about shooting a Republican lawmaker and his two children dying.
Warner did not respond to a question from the Daily Caller News Foundation about whether he would continue to fundraise with Jones while walking outside the Senate chamber on Tuesday. The senator is still operating a joint fundraising page with Jones and has not called on him to exit the race.
Warner also declined to speak to CNN on Monday about whether Jones should continue his attorney general campaign.
Warner for U.S. Senate contributed $25,000 to Jones’ campaign, according to filings reviewed by the DCNF. The Virginia Democrat has not commented on the donation since The National Review first reported on the text messages between Jones and Republican Virginia delegate Carrie Coyner on Friday.
Warner said that evening, “the comments attributed to Jay Jones are appalling, unacceptable, and inconsistent with the person I’ve known,” in a post on the social media platform X.
Warner has not called on Jones to seek accountability, nor has he commented on the matter publicly since the Friday night post.
A spokesperson for Warner did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Jones has admitted to sending the text messages in August 2022 to Coyner fantasizing about murdering then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert and wished his wife could see her children die. He argued the “evil” couple were “breeding little fascists,” in the resurfaced text messages.
Jones also told Coyner that if he were with Gilbert, Adolf Hilter and Pol Pot and had two bullets, then “Gilbert gets two bullets to the head.”
Local outlet The Virginia Scope reported on Monday that Jones told Coyner he wished death upon law enforcement officials during a 2020 phone call discussing qualified immunity. Jones has denied telling Coyner “that if a few police officers died, then maybe they would stop killing people.”
The National Republican Senatorial Committee, Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, has torched Warner for largely sticking by Jones during the scandal. Warner is notably up for reelection in 2026 and could face a competitive challenge from the Republican nominee.
“This should be an easy answer, but sadly Mark Warner is choosing to stay silent instead of calling for Jay Jones to drop out of the race,” NRSC regional press secretary Samantha Cantrell said in a statement.
Other Virginia Democrats have also shrugged off Jones’ violent messages.
Sen. Tim Kaine told reporters Monday that he would continue to support Jones’ run for attorney general. Democratic Virginia Rep. Eugene Vindman has also called on voters to support Jones and his Democratic running mates after the violent text messages resurfaced.
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